


Leave Out All the Rest

by AnimeNerd666 (CrystalNavy)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Betrayal, Drama, Feels, Friends to Enemies, Friendship, Gen, Implied Time Travel, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Team Feels, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:02:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28901586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalNavy/pseuds/AnimeNerd666
Summary: "And when you're feeling empty, keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest."
Kudos: 18





	1. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and the gang begin to scheme.

The wagon clinked softly as it traversed the dusty road leading to its destination.

Inside the wagon were several teenagers, with varying physical characteristics and personalities.

A young boy with gray-ish hair approached a girl who wore her hair in a ponytail.

Nearby, a black-haired girl whose hair was fastened in two neat pigtails was chatting to a boy with short, blond hair whose body was shaped like an ox. The people nearby were tense.

Then, another young boy decided to interrupt.

"Hello." he said "You must be Mina Carolina and Reiner Braun."

"That would be me." Mina confirmed chirpily "Pleasure meeting you...um..."

"Armin Arlert." the boy revealed "And the pleasure is all mine."

"How did you know?" Reiner asked casually

The grey-haired boy and the girl he was talking to moved over to them.

"The registration ceremony." Armin said with ease "I am very good at matching names to faces. I hope we'd get to know one another better during the next three years."

"I am Sasha Braus!" the girl with the ponytail announced "And I wanted to talk to you about something, Mina. Us girls have to stick together."

The two girls wandered off and Reiner was left alone with Armin and the grey-haired boy.

"Connie Springer." he said "Pleasure to meet the both of you. I think that this might be the start of a wonderful friendship."

He squeezed both of their hands in lieu of greeting.

-x-

"These are Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackerman." Armin said during dinner "They are my childhood friends and we're all from Shiganshina district."

Immediately, Connie and several other cadets swarmed around them.

"Then you must have seen it." Connie breathed "The Colossal Titan. How big was it?"

It was then that Armin noticed that Connie's entire demeanor had a certain peculiar quality to it.

And he noticed that several other cadets - namely the ones who had survived Trost - displayed that same peculiarity.

And Armin knew that they were in the same situation he himself was in.

"Big enough to tower over the Wall." Eren said with a smile

A smile which didn't quite reach his eyes.

His eyes were smoldering as he gazed at the adjacent table.

Jean was sitting there, along with Marco, Thomas and Bertolt.

Jean noticed the glare, and he immediately stood up, walking over to Eren.

"Hey, why you glaring at me?" Jean demanded haughtily 

"I heard you this morning." Eren said loudly "You're planning to join the Military Police, where it's safe. You're a coward, and I dislike cowards."

To anyone who didn't survive Trost, Eren and Jean's argument may seem real. But Armin knew better. It was a charade.

He was proven right when he noticed that they were both glancing at Jean's table every now and then.

They were making everyone think Eren's ire was directed at Jean, when in fact, it was directed at someone else entirely.

"What about the Armored Titan that destroyed Wall Maria?" Connie asked, breaking the standoff "What was it like?"

Eren and Jean's eyes wandered over to Reiner and Mina, who were talking animatedly with one another.

"It was just like any ordinary Titan." Eren shrugged "Nothing special. As long as we work together, we can take both of them down."

To those who didn't survive Trost, Eren's proclamation was an ordinary boast. To those that did, it was an invitation.

An invitation to join forces and flush out the traitors.

Eren and Jean moved towards the exit, still arguing. Armin and Mikasa followed.

"I wanna see who would win!" Connie said 

"Me too!" Sasha said 

They rushed out.

Krista stood up next, followed by Ymir.

"I think I'll try and break up their fight." Krista smiled sweetly

"Not without me you won't." Ymir slung an arm around Krista's shoulder.

Once they were all outside the building and hearing range alike, their demeanor shifted.

"Right." Eren began "We who are gathered here are all on the side of Humanity. The operation against the infiltrators begins here and now."

"Should we tell the Commander?" Sasha asked "He has a brilliant strategic mind, and if we confide in him - and work together with him - we'll achieve better results than if we worked alone."

"I endorse Sasha's idea." Armin said "We should."

"Then so it will be." Eren decided "We will tell him anonymously. That should make him curios enough to try and figure out who we are. And once he does, he'll reach out to us himself without arousing the traitors' suspicion. I suggest we write him a letter."

There were multiple nods of approval.

"It's decided then. There is an abandoned building nearby. We'll gather there to write our letter."


	2. Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'And I believe in our destiny, we're bound to survive against all odds'

After the initial meeting, the 104th cadet corps - including the conspirators - threw themselves into training.

Today, they were supposed to survive in the wilderness, and the instructor was expecting all of them to return safely, which meant they couldn't act out yet.

Currently, they were huddled around the campfire, and Mina was practically clinging to Reiner. The conspirators gave the two of them baleful looks.

"Sorry, I am afraid of the dark." Mina apologized, smiling brightly

Jean poked his stick into the fire, watching as it gradually became blackened. One part of it burned away completely, and ash fell into the fire. He maintained eye contact with Mina and Reiner the entire time this was happening. It was as good of a metaphor as any when it came to his intentions. Their reactions varied too. Mina's smile dropped once she realized the underlying message, and Reiner looked away.

Nearby, the other conspirators were quietly talking amongst themselves.

"This conversation is boring." Eren announced "I prefer slaying Titans. Every last Titan shall fall!"

"That's our job, yes." Mina agreed

Bertolt, who was seated to Jean's left, started sweating more than usual.

Reiner wrapped his hands around Mina's chest, and pulled her closer.

Jean broke the new stick he was holding with a powerful squeeze.

"It's time for guard change." Marco informed them, stepping back into the camp "Who will replace me?"

"How about you, Mina?" Armin suggested "It will help you overcome your fear. That sort of fear can be detrimental during the real missions, you know."

"I'll do it." Mina decided "I want to be as strong as Reiner."

"So do I." Eren proclaimed, fire in his eyes "Mikasa and Reiner are in league of their own."

"The future first and second among the top ten." Armin thought 

"Fortunately for us, the first can defeat the second." Jean thought 

"And we also have the Coordinate." Eren mused inwardly

"And the Titan of royal blood that can help activate it." Krista thought "Or we will soon enough, with my dad's Titan serum collection."

"Then we can show the traitors what it means to be the ones being slayed." Sasha thought viciously

"Their boss killed my family." Connie's eyes burned "Now I will return the favor, even if he is Eren's half-brother."

-x-

"I like you, Eren." Krista proclaimed out of nowhere "I want to go on a date with you!"

Ymir and Mikasa quashed their jealousy. Their plan came first.

"Of course." Eren agreed "It would be a good practice for Mikasa and I."

"Same for me and Ymir." Krista said, smiling brightly "I think my dad's place will be a good dating spot."

"I assume it will be." Eren said seriously "I trust your assessment."

"Cover for us, will you?" Krista turned her pleading eyes towards Reiner, knowing that he would

"Of course." he said

His face was reddening.

Eren and Krista put their cloaks on and covered their heads. They leaped onto their horses and rode away.

-x-

They rode hard all night, and were careful not to remove their hoods.

Finally, at the crack of dawn, they arrived. They stopped their horses a short distance away from the Reiss estate, and the chapel which was their destination tonight.

They descended down to the cavern in silence.

"It is beautiful." Krista admired the cavern "I never realized how beautiful it is the first time. Maybe I can bring Ymir here after this is all over. This place will be mine at that time, along with this entire island."

"Right now, we need to focus on the reason we came here." Eren reminded her "Otherwise, the traitors will take Ymir and she'll get eaten."

"Right." Krista nodded 

She and Eren began searching the place, pilfering any Titan serum they could get their hands on, as well as the injections themselves, and placing them in a bag they bought along the way for this purpose.

When they returned, the camp was empty, save for the conspirators.

"Did you find it?" Jean asked

"We did." Eren patted the bag slung over his shoulder "It's all in here."

"I have to be one turned." Krista informed them "Otherwise, Eren will be unable to use his ability."

"If we're to avoid any undue suspicion, then I suggest..." Armin proceeded to lay out his plan

-x-

"Walk with me." Krista requested

Annie looked up, surprised. Krista almost never requested something from someone else. She wasn't the type.

"Please." Krista's lip quivered "I don't want to go alone. I am afraid that bad people will be sent after me."

"Why?"

"Well, you see...my father is the King of this island. I am the next in line to the throne. But some people who work for my father don't want that to happen, so they will try and assassinate me."

Annie sighed.

"Fine then." she relented "I'll keep you safe."

"More like try to steal the Founding Titan from me." Krista thought "Well, too bad for you, but someone beat you to it years ago, and passed it to his son. I can help, though, and for that, I need to eat you."


	3. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie goes missing, and the conspirators receive a reply from Erwin. A meeting is held at the old HQ.

The cadets gathered at the usual training grounds, and Keith Shadis observed them as they filed in.

That was when he noticed that one of their number was missing.

"Where is cadet Leonhart?" he asked in a booming voice "Has any of you seen her?"

"Not since last night, Sir." Krista said "She had an errand to run, and left. I haven't seen her since."

"Krista never lies, Sir!" Jean pronounced "If she says this, then it must be true. Besides, Annie liked doing things her own way."

"True." Reiner affirmed "Annie is a very independent person. And I can also vouch that Krista doesn't lie."

It took a while for Shadis to gather all of their statements, and they all agreed on what their comrades said.

Instructor Shadis had no choice but to declare Annie Leonhart as MIA.

Afterwards, Krista and the others retired to their respective quarters, and Ymir sat down by her side.

"Well." she said casually "You avoided being caught."

"I am glad." Krista smiled sincerely "Now we can stay together, for as long as we have. You and I both have thirteen years now, and hopefully that would be enough to make a difference."

"It would be." Ymir took Krista's hands into hers "We will make sure of that."

-x-

Afterward, the normal routine resumed, but there was a certain divide forming between cadets as a whole.

One morning, a letter arrived, and Sasha, who was on guard duty, found it first.

She tucked it away in her pocket and went about gathering the rest of her fellow conspirators.

Once they were all present and accounted for, she revealed the letter, which was promptly passed on until every conspirator read it.

"Short and to the point." Jean grinned "I like it. He wants us to meet in the former HQ. I trust you're familiar with how to get there, no?"

There were multiple nods.

"And for the love of all that is holy, don't tell them." Jean added

The group turned to look at Reiner, Bertolt and Mina, who were rarely seen without each other these days. It was a widely known fact that Reiner and Mina have been going steady for a while.

"Morning, guys." Bertolt greeted them sleepily

Reiner and Mina were more enthusiastic, shaking hands with everyone in the vicinity.

It took a while for the conspirators to escape from them without arousing suspicion.

They mounted their horses and started their trip to HQ at a leisurely pace.

-x-

When they got there, Commander Erwin was waiting for them. Hange Zoe and Captain Levi were also present.

"You mentioned you have something important to tell me." Commander Erwin began

"First off, nothing said here will be shared with anyone who isn't here." Krista began, with steely demeanor

"You have an air of someone in command." Erwin observed "Who are you?"

"Historia Reiss, the daughter of current King of Paradis." was the reply "And its future queen."

"Paradis?" Erwin asked

"It's the name of this island." Historia began her explanation "The sad truth is, that my father and the men under his command have been lying to you all of this time. They want us to perish, and would do whatever it takes to preserve the status quo, out of some misguided sense of guilt that has nothing to do with the current generation."

"I suspected as much." Erwin said softly "Do continue."

"The reason we contacted you is him." Historia pointed to a boy her age, who stepped forward and held hands with her "My comrade from 104th cadet corps. He and I...we hold the future in our hands. But there are traitors in our midst that want to kidnap him and take him back to their superiors."

"Name's Eren." the boy said 

"Eren and I will place ourselves in your custody if you promise no harm can come to either of us." Historia told him

"Can't promise that completely." Erwin said "But I will put all the effort into making sure nothing causes harm to either of you."

"Then we can proceed." Historia said "We'll need to go into Titan territory. Then we can show you what we can do...what power we possess."


	4. The Demonstration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Krista demonstrate their joint power to Erwin and share some information with him.

Once they got out into Titan territory, Eren and Historia held their hands, and the Titans in the vicinity turned around, facing them and Erwin. Then they all gave him a customary Survey Corps salute.

Erwin remained stoic, but on the inside, his mind was reeling with questions.

"Hange would love this." he finally said, smiling wryly 

"Indeed. She'll be all over us, and would try to get our consent to experiment on us." Krista agreed 

"As we said, we're placing ourselves into our custody." Eren said "I believe that by working together, we can defeat the real enemy."

"That is another reason we wanted to talk to you." Krista said "We know who our real enemies are, and we can tell you their names."

Erwin said nothing, though he was intrigued. He merely waited for them to continue.

"Zeke Yeager, Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover and Annie Leonhart." Krista revealed "I've already neutralized one of them, and we can neutralize the others."

She removed the bag hanging from her shoulder and placed it gently on the ground. She opened it, revealing many syringes and vials filled with strange liquid inside.

"These are filled with Titan serum, the same one Eren's dad used to pass his Titans to Eren." Krista explained "With these, we can turn our soldiers into Titans and have them steal the enemies' powers. It's how I was able to obtain the power of Female Titan, by injecting myself with one of these, I turned myself into a Mindless Titan and ate Annie Leonhart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, but the next ones will be longer.


	5. The Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Alliance comes together.

Eren sat on a trunk of the tree, and he wasn't alone.

Mikasa, Armin and Krista sat beside him.

All of them were staring in the distance, in the direction of the ocean.

"You're not alone, you know?" Krista finally broke the silence "I still stay by my promise that I am your ally. And those two would die for you as well, no matter what happens."

After that, the silence descended once more.

It was the calm before the storm, and all of them knew it.

"Here they come." Armin announced

The four of them saluted as Erwin, Levi and Hange came into the view, with the rest of the Survey Corps, most of whom were conspirators, behind them.

But not all.

"Right, men!" Erwin commanded "Mount up! The Colossal and the Armored are still somewhere out there, and it's our mission to find them!"

_We already have._

"Yeah!" the soldiers yelled

As everyone mounted up, the conspirators shared knowing look. 

_It's their turn to be hunted. The hunter becomes the hunted and vice versa._

"Move out!" Erwin commanded

And then the sound of hoofbeats filled the air, along with the sound of two Titans shifting.

The two Titans in question - Jaw and Female Titans - positioned themselves on either side of Eren.

Of course, the two enemy Shifters noticed.

_Yes, we know. You're alone in the enemy territory, and once we're far away from the reach of the Walls, we'll eat you without the Interior Police interfering._

After riding for a day, they reached a forest, and Erwin ordered a halt.

"This is a good spot to camp and begin the hunt." Erwin commented "Reiner, Bertolt, Eren and Levi would be with me. For the rest of you, Hanji is in charge. Happy hunting!"

Inwardly, the conspirators couldn't help but groan, despite realizing the logic of such of an arrangement.

"Right." Hanji commanded "Let's raise up the tents!"

-x-

Erwin's group ventured deep into the forest, until they were surrounded by trees by all sides.

"Let me tell you a story." Erwin grasped Eren's shoulder "A story of the Titans who destroyed your home."

Behind Reiner and Bertolt, Levi pulled out his blades.

"Yes. These Titans were pretending to be our allies this whole time." Erwin continued "But you already know that, don't you?"

Eren responded by whipping out a syringe and plunging it into the Commander's forearm, injecting him with the same substance his father had used.

"Good." Erwin smiled grimly "You saw what has to be done."

Erwin transformed into a Titan. Another Titan appeared from behind Levi.

Levi and Eren leaped onto a tree branch before the two Titans could grab them, forcing them to target the two remaining humans.

"Just as planned." Eren whispered


	6. The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 104th aren't the only ones that were given a second chance.

The dawn in Marley rose, and with it, so did the soldiers.

As the city slowly began to awake, the soldier patrolled the area.

It was their job to protect the Marleyan people, after. And this included Marleyan nobles.

A family of nobles emerged from their villa, and headed down the street. 

"The days is short, and we have many errands to run." the patriarch of the family said, glancing at his watch "The Adlers don't take tardiness lightly."

"Of course, father." the elder of their two sons said, with a polished smile on his face

The younger son, on the other hand, had a perpetual frown on his face. 

As they walked, multiple Eldians walked past them, all wearing the required armbands, and all looking miserable.

Regardless, they received dirty looks from most of the family.

Finally, they arrived. Adler family villa loomed above them, and it was a grand sight.

Each of the family members exchanged polite greetings with one another, but nothing more than that. It was clear that there was no love lost between the two families.

An Eldian servant moved around the table and poured drinks for the gathered people. He paused when he got to the younger son of the guest family.

"Do you drink wine, young Master?" he asked politely

The younger boy shook his head.

"I prefer fruit juice." he said

"Then come this way." the servant motioned "I've prepared various...samples."

With that, they left, and walked to the storage room in silence. The servant closed the door behind them and locked it.

"There." they said "Now no one would disturb us. I've missed you, Nicc."

They proceeded to remove their disguise, revealing brown hair and deep brown eyes.

"Sasha?!" the other asked incredulously "Why are you here? You do know that you're endangering yourself!"

"I know." Sasha said "But I just had to see you, Nicc. I snuck aboard the Marley ship to come here. Thankfully, no one noticed. Eren helped by ensuring no Titans would attack us during our journey."

"What are you planning?" he pressured

"To rouse the Eldians within Marley." she explained "The current system is designed to breed dissent. The dogs kept in captivity are much more likely to bite back. The current system only contributes to the endless cycle of hatred. Surely even you can see that."

"I do." he said softly "But what are you going to do? The last group that tried to do something failed."

"Only because they were sold out by their core member." Sasha countered "But now, we won't fail. No one would suspect we have the son of a noble family in our inner circle. You will act as our informer and saboteur from within. Then once we crush old Marley, new Marley will rise from its ashes, and the cycle of hatred will be stopped for good, rather than perpetuated."


End file.
